1.80 a gallon for 93 octane. Damn those are some expensive prices out west!

Yeah these are some incredible times. Kudos to the Big 3 for firing up their own horsepower war. Seems like in the next few years, the imports are gonna be forgotten for a little bit while GM, Ford and Chrysler keep trying to figure out ways to outmuscle each other.

 

here's why: http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/02/16/gas...ces/index.html

the MTBE in our gasoline was replaced with expensive ethanol since January 1st. that's on top of all the other BS that's causing the gas prices to go up in general right now.

 

$2.45 for premium in San Francisco. $2.23 for regular.

A little trivia for ya. It's NOT the oil prices that drive prices crazy here in the US. It's refinery capacity.

A little known dirty secret is that there has been no new refineries built since the early 1970s!

Though this was initially because of enviromental regulations which made it expensive, the oil companies here are reaping massive benefits from it because limited capacity means limited availability, higher prices on the market, and higher profits. All they do is spend on maintence on existing refineries!

Ever notice when oil prices rapidly double, gasoline prices don't immediately double, and usually doesn't?? Wonder how gas can see a gradual rise without oil company profits being slammed?

At the same time, right now oil is as plentiful as it ever was, yet we're paying over twice the price we did just a couple of years ago? That's the massive demand we have without any growth in refinery capacity.

Something to think about next time you hear someone squwaking about our dependence on the middle east for oil (even though most all of our oil comes from elsewhere, such as Central & South America, Alaska, and a host of other countries... Europe get's most of their oil from the Middle East, & Austraila is oil independent)

Pretty good racket if you ask me.

 

Yeah, the horsepower war is almost getting to a stupid level. Given our road restrictions, dare I say there almost isn't any point to it. I'm ready for some efficiency wars, myself, but these are decidedly less glamorous.

It sure doesn't look that way. While these 3 are bitch-slapping each other with 20 ponies here and there, Honda and Toyota keep gaining market share.

Todd

P.S. my other car is a 14-second, 3600lb, V6 Acura. And, it's fast enough. I must be getting old.

 

That does depend on where you live

 

True, but once the U.S. automakers get the perceived quality gap erased from peoples' memories, its gonna be trouble for makes like Toyota and such. Only problem is erasing that perception which is gonna take a LONG LONG time.